[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
More harrowing details are coming to light about the school shooting at a Nashville, Tennessee private school.
In a press conference on Tuesday via People, Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake announced the 28-year-old shooter “bought seven firearms from five different local gun stores here, legally.” Three of these guns were used to kill three 9-year-old students and three school staff members on Monday morning, and the shooter’s parents didn’t even know their child had access to so many guns!
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According to the officer, the assailant’s parents were unaware that there were seven guns in their home. At one point, they believed their child had one weapon, which they thought was sold. They also felt the young adult “should not own weapons” because they were under “doctor’s care for an emotional disorder.” John didn’t elaborate. But damn. We already knew gun control in this country was f**ked up, but this is just more and more proof of how wrong the system really is!
While chatting with NBC News, the police chief opened up about what he believes might have been the shooter’s motive. He said he thinks feelings of “resentment” may have come into play since they once attended The Covenant School, a private Christian school, acknowledging:
“There’s some belief that there was some resentment for having to go to that school.”
Police also believe the school was targeted but the specific victims were not. Authorities found what was described as a “manifesto” at the shooter’s home, showing the attack was “calculated and planned,” a Monday press release revealed. Included in the manifesto were diagrams “drawn of the school in detail,” including noting where entry and exit points were as well as surveillance. Drake told NBC News:
“We have some writings that we’re going over that pertain to this day, the actual incident. We have a map drawn out of how this was all going to take place.”
Horrifyingly, The Covenant School was not the only location Hale was planning to attack, he continued:
“It [the manifesto] indicates that there was going to be shootings at multiple locations, and the school was one of them.”
Wow. This is already a devastating tragedy, but to think it could have been way worse is sickening.
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As we’ve reported, the shooter, who police believe identified as transgender, entered the school through a side door with two “assault-type rifles” and one pistol. Fourteen minutes after 911 was called, responding officers killed the Tennessee native in a shootout. Sadly not before victims Evelyn Dieckhaus, 9, Hallie Scruggs, 9, William Kinney, 9, Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Mike Hill, 61, were murdered at the crime scene. In a statement provided to People, The Covenant School mourned the loss of their students and faculty, saying:
“We are grieving tremendous loss and are in shock coming out of the terror that shattered our school and church. We are focused on loving our students, our families, our faculty and staff, and beginning the process of healing.”
Those who wish to help this community can support the following fundraisers: The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, ViVE, and Victims First. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who lost their loved ones. We also hope politicians will finally make the necessary changes to stop future tragedies like this and make schools the safe space they should be.
If you’re experiencing emotional distress related to incidents of mass violence, you can call or text the Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 or visit their website at https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/disaster-distress-helpline for more resources.
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